Since last winter, the oil furnace in our 1840's farmhouse has been dying -- and then dead. The biggest problem was not the lack of heat, but the lack of any basement heat source to dry out the cellar and first floor. Over the spring and summer, we ran a dehumidifier in the basement constantly, but never got the humidity levels out of the 80-100 per cent range. Mildew becomes a problem anywhee above 50 or 60 per cente. The photo at left shows some of the exotic fungi that decided to grow on our beautiful wide plank flooring. The day the furnace installation men were set to arrive, I got up early and drove to get there in time to heat up the building. Outside at 6:30 a.m., it was 9 degrees, and inside it was 34 in the basement, 22 upstairs. I built some fires in the fireplaces and set up propane heaters in the basement. It got up to the low 40s in a couple of hours. The furnace men arrived shortly after 9 a.m.
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Berkshire JournalA diary of poetry nature & interior & exterior cosmology from the Berkshires Archives
May 2021
Berkshire Living
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